One Question Can Tell if You Drink Too Much . . .

. . . according to a recommendation by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). It’s reported in the Journal of General Internal Medicine online.

The goal of the study was to assess the validity of a single question as a screening test for unhealthy alcohol use. ‘Unhealthy alcohol use’ covers a spectrum from risky consumption to alcohol-related disorders, abuse, and dependence. Subjects were recruited from primary care waiting rooms. They were asked the single question, “How many times in the past year have you had X or more drinks in a day?” where X is 5 for men and 4 for women. A response of greater than 1 was considered positive.

To establish whether the subjects had ‘risky consumption’ patterns, they were asked to complete a calendar of thee number of drinks taken over the previous month. More than 14 drinks a week (men) or 7 drinks a week (women), or more than 4 drinks a day (men) or 3 drinks a day (women) on any occasion were considered risky consumption. A standard diagnostic interview was used to determine the presence of an alcohol use disorder.

The sensitivity and specificity of the single question screen tests was 81.8% and 79.3%, respectively. These results were similar to those obtained with the more common three-item screen commonly used, and show that the one-question test is ready for widespread use. Anything so simple that can help family doctors identify a drinking problem will be of value to the subject, as well as family, friends, and the community.